Gulf oil spill restoration: First round of projects total $57 million

View full sizeOne of the proposed projects in Alabama would restore dunes that serve as habitat for the Alabama beach mouse. (AP, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service)

MOBILE, Alabama -- Officials released a first round of oil spill restoration projects Wednesday that included proposals to create or enhance oyster habitat, salt marshes, sand dunes, and nearshore reefs in Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Florida.

Drawing from a $1 billion pool established by BP as a down payment on fines related to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill, representatives from the Gulf States agreed on $57 million worth of restoration projects.

Those proposals will be up for public comment at a series of meetings in January and February.

The projects were selected by the Deepwater Horizon Natural Resources Damage Assessment trustees, a panel composed of representatives from the Gulf states and the federal government. The panel is already at work selecting projects for a second round of restoration work.

Gunter Guy Jr., head of the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, served as Alabama’s representative on the trustee panel. He said the group focused on selecting projects that had a clear environmental benefit, would repair damage caused by the spill, and had a high likelihood of success.

Another consideration, he said, was finding projects that could be constructed and implemented quickly. One of the most complicated aspects of the project selection was coming to terms with BP on how to calculate the value of the various restoration efforts, Guy said.

“We know there was oil in the water and the marshes, so we wanted to do that kind of restoration. We also knew without dispute that we had some damage to the dunes from all of the BP equipment and work,” Guy said in explaining why marsh and dune restoration efforts were selected.

“There has never been restoration done on this kind of scale. There have been emergency projects before, but nothing as large scale as what we are undertaking.”

The panel will study and select additional restoration projects until the original $1 billion posted by BP has been spent. Other restoration work may occur as well, depending on the final settlement of the government’s Natural Resource Damage Assessment lawsuit against BP.

Environmental groups from Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana applauded the early selections.

“The Alabama Coastal Foundation is happy to see the direction that the trustees have taken with this initial project selection,” Mark Berte, newly appointed director of the Coastal Foundation, said in a statement.

“Projects that protect shoreline and important coastal habitats like those chosen in Alabama are not only beneficial to our environment, but also help with the economic and recreational losses suffered during last year’s oil spill.”

In addition to repairing the damage to the coastal environment, the BP funds are also to be used to help compensate the public for the loss of the use of the Gulf during the spill. One of the projects selected for Florida — $4.4 million for the construction of four boat ramps in Escambia County — was selected to help make up for the loss of use of the Gulf.

Chris Dorsett with the Ocean Conservancy stressed that the Gulf has been diminished by various insults for decades, including industrial pollution, construction runoff, overfishing and the nutrient loading that causes the low-oxygen dead zone.

“These problems threaten fish, wildlife, the places where they live and the people who depend on a healthy ocean for jobs and business. The RESTORE Act, currently under consideration in Congress, is designed to direct the Clean Water Act fines BP and other responsible parties must pay into a broader restoration strategy to address these long term challenges and ensure a healthy and sustainable future,” Dorsett said.

Public meetings are scheduled in Mississippi on Jan. 17, 18 and 19, and in Alabama on Jan. 23 and 24 to discuss the proposals. Details, including the time and locations of the meetings have not been announced.